Appealing to service companies

On 27 March, Deputy Oil and Gas Minister Omar Al-Shakmak told representatives of oil service companies in Tripoli that the government was 'doing everything it could to provide security for the oil areas and to activate the role of the Oil Installations Protection Force.'

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) budget has been adopted, he noted, and has 'approved the drilling and maintenance of a large number of oil wells, in addition to a large number of other projects that will provide many opportunities.' Shakmak had met with the companies to encourage them to resume operations.

Representatives of service companies told him that business was still difficult and that they were suffering not only from sabotage and theft carried out during the revolution and continued security problems but also from a lack of liquidity and problems in getting business from NOC while the budget had not been passed.

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